Therapy Teams Wanted You and your best friend can join the menagerie and become a Hospice of the Valley pet therapy team. The organization is specifically in need of small dogs. A great therapy animal is friendly, confident, calm and likes people. All pet teams must be evaluated and registered with a national pet therapy organization. Call (602) 636-6336 or go to hov.org/volunteer/pet-therapy to learn more. Photo by Jill Flynn

sometimes spend their whole lives trying to figure out what their purpose is,” she said. Because Cooney was a fixture on the airways, coming into people’s homes for so many years, people often feel they know her and can trust when she explains how hospice works. And many are thrilled and surprised when she conducts pet therapy visits herself, along with her beloved Max. Cooney has a special relationship with Max, who will turn 11 in July. An elegant, energetic dog, he moves with a light, springy gait as he romps around Cooney’s backyard. At the same time, he is a “thinking” dog who pays close attention to Cooney’s command. On hospice visits, he is calm and easygoing, like all therapy pets must be. “He immediately matches how they are,” Cooney said. “If there’s laughter, his tail moves and he gets closer. If they’re very still and they don’t move, he’ll just sniff their hand or put his nose under their hand. He’s really intuitive.” So much so that Cooney swears he knows the work he’s about to embark on when she takes out his blue pet therapy vest. And after a couple of hours visiting hospice patients, caretakers and staff, he returns home as tired as if he’d run 10 miles. “I feel a little glow in my heart when I see how pooped he is afterward,” Cooney said. “I think, ‘Oh gosh, I wore you out, but you did a good thing today.’” Patients and families agree. Some need their spirits lifted by the warmth and laughter pets bring; others need the comforting power of physical contact. Either way, these furry visitors serve as nonjudgmental listener and quiet friend. They sit calmly and let patients and their families recollect and smile. “I feel very relaxed when I have her here,” said Vicki, a hospice patient, about Callie, an adorable Becoming a registered therapy animal takes practice, patience and perseverance, but it can enhance the relationship between the pet and its handler, as it has for Lin Sue Cooney and Max. COVER STORY CONTINUED APRIL 2019 | FRONTDOORS MEDIA 25